Body-building at age five

Started by Paradox, October 28, 2009, 05:35:09 PM

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Paradox

¡El niño más fuerte del mundo!


As many of you around here know, I lift weights on a regular basis. I've talked to my gym friends, trainers, the resident doctor of sports medicine on campus, and some biology/anatomy majors, and the consensus is the same as my original assessment-- this is fucking ridiculous:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/post/Video-Five-year-old-Romanian-weighlifter-become?urn=top,198525

That boy is way too young to be pushing his body like that; his primary testosterone production (which is a major player in lean muscle formation) won't really hit optimal levels for weight-lifting until he hits puberty, so either a lot of this effort is going to waste, or after he does finally hit puberty, he's going to be a monstrosity on par with Gregg Valentino (none of that stuff about Greg is faked or photoshopped; feel free to google him to learn the accuracy of his site and its claims).


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Inkidu

I wouldn't cut in front of him in the lunch line. He'd probably break the kids arm...
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Oniya

I look at this the same way I look at those 'toddler beauty pageants'.  He's not body-building for himself, I'd be willing to bet.  This is some parent living vicariously through his kid.
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Inkidu

Quote from: Oni on October 28, 2009, 08:32:31 PM
I look at this the same way I look at those 'toddler beauty pageants'.  He's not body-building for himself, I'd be willing to bet.  This is some parent living vicariously through his kid.
I dislike parents that do things like that. Dislike intensely.
If you're searching the lines for a point, well you've probably missed it; there was never anything there in the first place.

Serephino

That's usually the case.  People like that shouldn't be allowed to be parents.  Kids should be allowed to be kids.  There's plenty of time for him to do that after puberty if he wants. 

Saerrael

I'm wondering what this will do to his body. That can not be healthy for a growing up child...

Elayne

First off, the weights that the kid is lifting are relatively light and appropriate for his age.

Second off, alot of the physical feats (handstand pushups) are actually much easier for a kid to do, because the resistance comes from your own body weight and because he has a much lighter body weight, it's actually not as hard as you'd think.

Third off, most of the things that the kid is doing is gymnastic.  Children are supposed to start gymnastics at that age, because the body is still developing and it's much easier to start at age 5 rather than at age 25 when your joints are calcified.

As far as what it's doing for his body, this is what it's doing.  His tendon strength, flexibility and muscular strength are increasing greatly.  I'm assuming his diet is also relatively good, so basically, it's going to make him much, much healthier over all.

People have this opinion that kids can't begin learning till their teenagers.  This is the exact opposite of the truth; children are actually MUCH better at learning when they're young.  I wish we would start teaching nutrition and fitness at a much younger age than we do.

And lastly, at what age do you think that we start OUR kids at?  I was 5 when I started ballet.  My boyfriend was 7 when he started karate.  If you look at most elite athlete from Wayne Gretzky to Bruce Lee, they primarily started very, very young, so their bodies would develop along with the sport.
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Rhapsody

My initial reaction was "Man, that's one kid no one's gonna want to mess with in school."
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Paradox

Quote from: Elayne on October 28, 2009, 09:52:59 PM
First off, the weights that the kid is lifting are relatively light and appropriate for his age.

Second off, alot of the physical feats (handstand pushups) are actually much easier for a kid to do, because the resistance comes from your own body weight and because he has a much lighter body weight, it's actually not as hard as you'd think.

Third off, most of the things that the kid is doing is gymnastic.  Children are supposed to start gymnastics at that age, because the body is still developing and it's much easier to start at age 5 rather than at age 25 when your joints are calcified.

As far as what it's doing for his body, this is what it's doing.  His tendon strength, flexibility and muscular strength are increasing greatly.  I'm assuming his diet is also relatively good, so basically, it's going to make him much, much healthier over all.

People have this opinion that kids can't begin learning till their teenagers.  This is the exact opposite of the truth; children are actually MUCH better at learning when they're young.  I wish we would start teaching nutrition and fitness at a much younger age than we do.

And lastly, at what age do you think that we start OUR kids at?  I was 5 when I started ballet.  My boyfriend was 7 when he started karate.  If you look at most elite athlete from Wayne Gretzky to Bruce Lee, they primarily started very, very young, so their bodies would develop along with the sport.

For me, it's not the fact that he's lifting weights and doing gymnastics-- it's the fact that he seems to be doing it to such a great extent that it overshadows a lot of other stuff; granted, we don't see what else he does with his time, but the story and video make it seem as though this boy dedicates himself exclusively to exercise, body-building, etc.


"More than ever, the creation of the ridiculous is almost impossible because of the competition it receives from reality."-Robert A. Baker

Elayne

Quote from: xopɐɹɐd on October 29, 2009, 02:38:37 PM
For me, it's not the fact that he's lifting weights and doing gymnastics-- it's the fact that he seems to be doing it to such a great extent that it overshadows a lot of other stuff; granted, we don't see what else he does with his time, but the story and video make it seem as though this boy dedicates himself exclusively to exercise, body-building, etc.

I'd imagine that Wayne Gretzky's hockey playing overshadowed alot of other things.

A five year old isn't a drone.  Five year olds do have personalities and I've heard five year olds be defiant to their parents before.  I imagine if the kid really was that unhappy with being a gymnast, he'd let his parents know.  From the father's tone in the video, he sounds happy and from the kid's facial expression, he SEEMS happy.  It's entirely possible that the kid is actually enjoying himself.
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Rhapsody

Many athletes in physically-demanding sports begin at a very young age.  Some of them don't even go to school, but travel with tutors and instructors in a home-school program to make sure they get their basic education. Hell, a lot of Olympians are in their mid-teens, indicating that they've been practicing and training since a young age.  This doesn't necessitate that they're excluding other things in their lives, it just means that they're focussed one one thing more intensely than a lot of their age group would be. 
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Paradox

Well if that's the case, then more power to him!


"More than ever, the creation of the ridiculous is almost impossible because of the competition it receives from reality."-Robert A. Baker

Doomsday

I saw this a few days ago, and am not quick to judge. He doesn't look like he's being forced to do anything. He doesn't look unhealthy; far from it.

Ruhinn

As long as he's healthy, I think this is okay. However, and this is a huge point for me, if he decides at age 10 that he's not into body building anymore, and that he'd rather pursue hockey, or painting, or bird watching, or even just playing videogames with his friends, I hope his parents will continue to support his choices.

Aiden

Let's bring in some Romanian parents and make America less fat, starting with the children.

Kate

With his sense of balance he has the makings of a great gymnast or male ballet dancer.
... or more importantly a rock and roll wrestler ...

Doomsday

Really with that work ethic I think he could do anything he set his mind towards.